LSUS honor society to initiate 35 Sunday 3/14/02

Three LSU in Shreveport faculty members and 32 students will be initiated into the local university’s chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Noel Memorial Library. The students include five graduate students, 13 seniors and 14 juniors.

Dr. Martha Mangin, the chapter’s 2002-03 president, said the primary objective of the national Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is “the recognition and encouragement of superior scholarship in all academic disciplines. The society is convinced that recognizing and honoring those persons of good character who have excelled in scholarship, in whatever field, will stimulate others to strive for excellence.”

The initiates include:

Faculty - Dr. Charles Manges, professor and dean of the College of Education; Dr. Binshan Lin, Professor of Management, and Dr. Timothy Winter, professor and chairman of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science.

Graduate students and the degrees they are pursuing - Paula B. Atkins, Master of Science in Counseling Psychology; Anthony S. Evangelista, Master of Business Administration; Lori A. Gates, Master of Science in Systems Technology; Michelle K. Gormanous, Specialist in School Psychology, and Donna Kay Grosjean, Master of Science in Human Services Administration.

Seniors - Mary Pellie Ascol, Laura L. Beliech, Brianne C. Best, Leslie D. Burrow, Colleen Cookson, Jan M. Hampton, Susan J. Hastings, Margueritte Jowers-McKinley, Mehrzad Khodavandi, Kathy P. Palmer, Amy C. Redel, Monica M. Santos and Margaret Wagner.

Juniors - Angela M. Brock, Allison G. Burns, Stephanie A. Cochrane, Gina M. Guy, Jennifer L. Knafla, Amy R. Lafitte, Arthur D. Marrs, Charles V. Nicolasvu, Carla A. Preiss, William K. Rutherford, Admir Seferovic, Kathleen M. Sheffield, Sandra Whatley-Sweet, and Deborah J. Windham.

Chapter officers for 2002-03 were also installed. In addition to Mangin, officers are Dr. Cindy Sisson, president-elect; Mary Pellie Ascol, vice president; Dr. Helen Taylor, secretary-treasurer, and Dr. Stephen Banks, public relations officer.

The guest speaker for the initiation ceremony will be Dr. Dorothy Gwin, executive director of the Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier. Her topic will be “Partnering with Your Community.”

An informal reception honoring the initiates and new officers will follow the program.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is America’s oldest and most selective honor society that recognizes excellence in all academic disciplines. Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi has more than a million members in all parts of the world, with about 35,000 students, faculty and alumni initiated annually. Its 282 chapters are on college and university campuses throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

Membership is by invitation only, with selection made on the basis of superior academic achievement supported by good character. Although many major curricula have their own honor societies, Phi Kappa Phi is the only honor society at LSUS that chooses from the best students across all majors.

Committed to its motto, “Let the love of learning rule mankind,” Phi Kappa Phi promotes academic excellence in all fields of higher education and recognizes outstanding scholastic achievements by students, faculty, staff and alumni.

At LSUS, the society initiates a total of no more than 10 percent of the previous year’s graduates. Junior level students (60-89 credit hours) must be in the top 5 percent of the their class and seniors (90 hours or more) must be in the top 10 percent. In addition, each student must have a minimum of 30 hours of credit at LSUS and have at least a 3.7 GPA.

One graduate student from each graduate program may be selected and are nominated for membership by the deans of the four colleges based on their outstanding academic achievements. In addition to students, the LSUS chapter is permitted to elect annually a small number of outstanding faculty, staff, and alumni chosen on the basis of academic record, professional achievements, and service to higher education.